International Poetry Festival
30 artists from 12 countries
5 hours of spoken word and poetry performances, books and visual arts
Produced by +the Institute [for Experimental Arts]
supported by Southwest Youth Arts
Saturday 31 January 2026
17:00 – 22:00
Deli Theatre
107 Leadenhall St, City of London EC3A 4AF
Tickets: £10 at the theatre door and via Eventbrite — CLICK THE LINK
The International Poetry Festival brings together 30 artists from 12 countries in the City of London creating a vibrant meeting point of global voices and contemporary expression. Through spoken word, visual art and live performances, the programme showcases experimentation, creative collaboration, and the evolving forms of 21st‑century poetics.
The “Generation of 2000” in poetry emerges from the period of economic and social crisis as a community of writing that challenges both aesthetic normativity and the institutions of literary legitimacy. The International Poetry Festival present contemporary poetic production as a global network of voices not defined by a unified style or ideological identity, but by a subterranean, diffuse resistance to market normalcy, dominant historical conditions, and social injustice. It focuses on the ways in which poets of the 21st century draw inspiration not only from artistic traditions but also from the other humanities and social sciences, anti-authoritarian philosophy, queer feminism, and anti-colonial theory, linking poetry to critical thought and to local and international social movements. Through practices such as spoken word, video poetry, and self-organized collectives, poetry functions as an act of freedom, a space of community, and a tool for individual and collective emancipation.
The International Poetry Festival in London brings together 30 artists from 12 countries, including poets from the vibrant UK spoken word scene, creating a truly global meeting point for contemporary poetic expression. The programme brings together spoken word performers, video‑poem directors, visual artists, and emerging youth poets, each contributing a distinct voice shaped by their cultural background and artistic practice. From the Basque Country to Sudan, from Iceland to Ghana, from Greece to the UK, the festival reflects a wide constellation of origins and influences, offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience poetry as an international conversation unfolding live on stage.
The Institute for Experimental Arts in the last 20 years has built a strong international presence across Europe, Asia, USA and Latin America through festivals, theatre shows and events in major cultural centres such as London, New York, Berlin, Frankfurt, Weimar, Athens, Chiang Mai, Bali, Calcutta, Varanasi, Mumbai, San Cristóbal, and Mexico City.
PROGRAM of the INTERNATIONAL POETRY FESTIVAL in London
STARTS 17.00
Poetry Performances & Freestyle by Young Artists
Sarah Jente Huizinga
Harvey David Mitchell
Ashton Sol Williams
Discover the powerful voices of tomorrow at the International Film Poetry Festival. This year, talented teen poets from South West Youth Arts take the stage with bold, imaginative original works. Witness emerging artists push creative boundaries and share their unique visions with the world.
Hosted by South West Youth Arts
SPOKEN WORD LIVE PERFORMANCES
17:30 – 22:00
In an era defined by rapid change and digital noise, spoken word has re‑emerged as one of the most vital artistic forms of the 21st century — a space where truth, identity, and collective memory are voiced with urgency and emotional force. The artists featured in this year’s festival represent a global spectrum of poetic expression, blending performance, activism, storytelling, and experimental sound to confront the realities of our time. Their work spans themes of migration, faith, womanhood, antisexism, neurodivergence, social resistance, and personal transformation, demonstrating how spoken word continues to shape cultural discourse and empower communities.
The Poets from 21st Century create a five‑hour live experience that celebrates the power of the human voice and reaffirms poetry as a living, breathing force in contemporary art.
Poetry from the 21st Century
Introductive Presentation of the Anthology | Digital Archive for the Documentation of Contemporary Greek Poetry by poet and director Tasos Sagris
The Institute for Experimental Arts presents the anthology and digital platform “Poetry from the 21st Century”– an initiative dedicated to the documentation and promotion of contemporary Greek poetic production. The project features 220 poets who published their debut collections after 2000, representing 98 publishing houses across Greece, and constitutes a comprehensive survey of 21st-century Greek poetry. The platform also includes scholarly essays by distinguished critics and academics examining contemporary poetry and its creators.
ENJOY the digital platform “Poetry from 21st Century” HERE
LIVE SPOKEN WORD PERFORMANCES:
Lucy English (UK)
Rakaya Fetuga (Ghana/ Nigeria / UK)
Miss Yankey (UK / Ghana)
Ernesto Sarezale
(Basque Country)
Tasneim Zyada (Palestine / UK)
Woodzy (UK)
Baby O (Lebanon / UK)
Redeeming Features (UK)
Sami Rhymes (UK)
Angelina Farmer (UK)
Maureen Onwunali (Ireland / Nigeria)
Tia – Zakura (UK)
Hlín Leifsdóttir & Morton
(Iceland / Greece)
Dinan Alasad (Sudan)
Annotate (UK)
Natalie Katsou (UK / Greece)
Princess Latifah (UK)
Han Newton & Jess Hunt (UK)
Sissy Doutsiou (Greece)
BROKENPEN (UK)
Tasos Sagris & Whodoes (Greece)
Eljae (SUDAN / UK)VISUAL ARTS
Global Eye
Global Eye is a visual artist whose work explores perception, scale, and the shifting relationship between the observer and the world, creating images that invite viewers to look again and see differently.
Error / Eros — Sarah Tremlett
Sarah Tremlett is a pioneering poetry film theorist, artist, and author of The Poetics of Poetry Film (Intellect Books), whose work blends visual poetics, feminist inquiry, and experimental film language.
Void Optical Laboratory
Void Optical Laboratory, part of the long standing anarchist art collective Void Network, creates experimental visual environments that explore perception, abstraction, and the shifting boundaries between analogue distortion and digital image making.
The Institute for Experimental Arts Archives
The Institute for Experimental Arts Archives and FILM POETRY digital platform of international video poetry present rare visual materials, documents, and artefacts tracing the evolution of radical poetry, performance, and avant garde media practices.
ENJOY FREE– 500 video poems from 75 countries at the digital platform FILM POETRY: link HERE
ARTIST BIOS
Lucy English (UK)
Lucy English is a leading figure in the field of spoken word and poetry film, serving as Professor of Creative Enterprise at Bath Spa University. Her groundbreaking project The Book of Hours has been screened at over thirty international film festivals and is archived in the British Library’s digital collection. She is co‑director of the Lyra Bristol Poetry Festival and collaborates internationally with institutions such as the Zebra Poetry Film Festival and the European Alpbach Forum. Her recent hologram installation Cancer Alley continues her exploration of poetry in expanded media. With three novels and multiple poetry collections, she remains a central voice in contemporary literary innovation.
Rakaya Esime Fetuga (UK)
Rakaya Fetuga is a Ghanaian and Nigerian poet raised in North-West London. Receiving writing awards from the New York TV & Film Festival (2024) and Royal Holloway University of London (2015 & 2016), as well as winning poetry competitions such as the Roundhouse Poetry Slam (2018), Rakaya’s words spark joy, challenge and meaningful reflection in her listeners. An advocate for self-expression, Rakaya uses her love for the written and spoken word to create spaces of inspiration, connection and community.
Miss Yankey (UK / Ghana)
Miss Yankey is a British‑Ghanaian writer, activist, and internationally touring spoken word artist whose work champions women’s rights, mental health awareness, and social justice. A multi‑slam champion and a prominent host of major London poetry nights, she is celebrated for her emotionally charged performances and her ability to blend lyrical precision with powerful storytelling. She has appeared on Sky Arts’ BAFTA‑winning Life & Rhymes, bringing her voice to a global audience. Her poetry confronts difficult truths while offering hope, resilience, and a call to collective empowerment.
Ernesto Sarezale (Basque Country)
Ernesto Sarezale is the pen name of a Basque performance poet and filmmaker who has long been an influential presence in London’s spoken word scene. As both performer and event promoter, he has championed experimental and queer poetics, recently directing a documentary on LGBTQ+ spoken word. His writing has appeared in publications such as Magma, Grey Suit, Chroma, Perverse, Hearth and Coffin, Stone of Madness, Spam, Fruit Journal, and Streetcake. His poetry pamphlet In the Name of the Flesh showcases his distinctive blend of sensuality, intellect, and performance‑driven language.
Tasneim Zyada (Palestine / UK)
Tasneim Zyada is a writer and international performer whose work explores generational memory, mental health, relationships, home, and faith with a quiet intensity often described as a “calm storm.” Over the past decade, she has facilitated writing workshops worldwide and performed at major festivals including AWAN, Bloomsbury, You Belong Here at the Southbank Centre, and the Athens International Video Poetry Festival. Her poetry blends introspection with cultural resonance, offering audiences a deeply personal yet universally relatable experience. Through her performances, she creates a space for reflection, healing, and intergenerational dialogue.
Woodzy (UK)
Woodzy is an award winning Flo Poet, 3x TEDx Speaker and Emcee Specialist. As seen on BAFTA winning TV show “Life And Rhymes” also on Sky Sports “Fight Night” Live at Wembley Arena. Woodzy was always destined to become a Poet, being born on World Poetry Day. From studying at the Brit School, to
opening for the likes of Stormzy, Dizzee Rascal, John Cooper Clarke and more. Performing at Festivals such as Wilderness, Latitude, Pub in the Park and more. Appearing on platforms like BBC1Xtra, BBC Radio London, SBTV and more. Reaching over 1 million views on his poem “90s baby”. Having had poems commissioned by the like of The Tower of London, Sky Sports, Four Seasons Hotel, Beefeater Gin, TONE
enterprise and more. Woodzy captivates his audience with witty wordplay, incredible use of language and relatable topics. His debut poetry collection “Peace. Full. Thirty” Was published on March 21 st 2024.
Aside from performing, Woodzy facilitates a variety of workshops in Schools, Colleges & Workplaces.
Woodzy continues to work on upcoming projects as one of the Flo Poets. He is the Founder of Poetry & Music experience “Writer’s Block”.
Omar Hamaoui (Lebanon / UK)
Omar, known as Baby O, is a British-Lebanese poet and cultural curator based in London. Growing up with dyslexia and ADHD, he found in poetry a language for what was otherwise difficult to express. His work moves through questions of identity, political realities, nature, love, intimacy, and altered states, tracing a continuous search for personal growth. Influenced by hip-hop, grime, and experimental poetry, his writing blends cultural duality with a quiet restlessness and a desire for transformation. His work has been published across literary platforms and magazines. He is the author of the poetry collection Saved by the Pen, and has received recognition for his voice through performances and features within the international poetry scene.
Redeeming Features (UK)
Redeeming Features is a visceral, hyperactive punk spoken word poet from the UK, known for his absurd, high energy performances and his presence across the underground punk and poetry scenes. He has opened for numerous UK punk bands and performs regularly across the UK and abroad, bringing a raw, anarchic edge to contemporary spoken word. His debut book Sniffing Glue and Playing Chicken on the M4 donates all profits to the mental health charity MIND, and his second collection Sex Injuries is published by London Poetry. Featured in podcasts, interviews, and live platforms, he continues to push the boundaries of punk poetics with work that is both chaotic and sharply self aware.
Sami Rhymes (UK)
Sami Rhymes is an award‑winning spoken word artist, poet, and author from London whose work is known for its raw vulnerability, rhythmic power, and fearless engagement with taboo topics. She has performed widely across the UK and internationally, appearing on BBC Radio London and the BAFTA‑winning Life & Rhymes. Beginning her writing journey at a young age, she had her first poem published at nine and has since released her debut collection 20 Something and contributed to several anthologies. Her 2022 EP Triple Threat showcases her dynamic fusion of poetry and performance. Through rhyme, she educates, entertains, and inspires audiences to speak up and take action.
Angelina Farmer (UK)
Angelina Farmer is a dynamic spoken word artist and performer whose work fuses electronic atmospheres with theatrical intensity, creating emotionally charged live experiences. Her upcoming LP Hell Upon Earth, released by The Institute for Experimental Arts Records, showcases her commitment to amplifying marginalized voices and exploring the transformative power of the arts. Through her poetry, she channels deeply personal narratives, using performance as a form of catharsis and a means of navigating the emotional landscapes that shape her life. Her work stands at the intersection of vulnerability, resistance, and sonic experimentation.
Hlín Leifsdóttir & Morton (Iceland / Greece)
Hlín Leifsdóttir & Morton are a contemporary classical, experimental electronica, and spoken word duet that brings together Icelandic poet, writer, and classical soprano Hlín Leifsdóttir with Athens‑based musician, composer, and producer Morton (Whodoes). Hlín’s existentialist poems, delivered in her ancient mother‑tongue Icelandic, revolve around secrets, unspeakable truths, and the hidden dimensions of the self. Morton’s compositions transcend linguistic boundaries, using contemporary classical and electronic sound to reveal what lies between the lines. Together, they create performances that make silence palpable and transform poetry into a multisensory experience.
TIA – ZAKURA (UK)
Tia‑Zakura is a published spoken‑word artist from Cardiff whose work has travelled across the UK. Drawing on her Black and Asian heritage and her background in social activism, she explores feminism, politics, and intersectionality with clarity, power, and emotional resonance. She has been commissioned by organisations including The National Lottery Community Fund, CommonWealth, Harambee OBU, and The National Trust. Alongside her own performances, she is deeply committed to facilitating poetry workshops, particularly within schools and youth groups. Her style blends intricate rhyme schemes, lyricism, and rhythmic flow, using lived experience to connect the “big P” in People with the “small p” in person.
Dinan Alasad (Sudan)
Dinan Alasad is a Sudanese writer and mathematician whose work centers on the sanctity of slow communication and the intimate relationship between thought, speech, and expression. Born and raised in Khartoum, she has built a powerful platform for Sudanese women through her project Letters from Dinan, where she writes for and is written to by over a thousand women across the world. Her work gives language to shared experiences, unravels emotional knots, and creates a space for collective reflection and healing. Through her writing and spoken word, she champions authenticity, vulnerability, and the importance of speaking in one’s own voice.
Annotate UK)
Annoatet (Liam Spencer) is a writer, director, and performer whose work seeks to illuminate underrepresented social issues and spark imagination, dialogue, and creative expression. His performances blend narrative depth with emotional clarity, often addressing themes of identity, resilience, and justice. In 2022, he headlined TNT Sport’s first‑ever spoken word show with a tribute to Muhammad Ali, demonstrating his ability to merge cultural commentary with poetic craft. His recent audio drama Beneath the Cracks further showcases his commitment to storytelling that challenges, inspires, and expands the boundaries of contemporary spoken word.
ELJAE (SUDAN / UK)
Eljae is a poet, cultural curator, and community organiser, in search of the perfect hot chocolate. Alongside co-programming Sudan Series: Neighbourhood Nights and co-curating Moving Forward Sudan’s 2026 fundraiser exhibition, she is working on her first poetry pamphlet. Meanwhile, Eljae’s poems can be read on Sapelo Square, in adda magazine, PANK magazine, and The Colour of Madness amongst others.
Natalie Katsou (UK / Greece)
Natalie Katsou is a theatre and performance lecturer at Goldsmiths, a director, and a writer whose work spans new writing, tragedy, opera, and international collaborations. With an MFA in Theatre Directing from East 15 Acting School and a PhD in Philosophy and Theory of Theatre and Drama from the University of Athens, she brings rigorous academic insight to her creative practice. She has published four plays and directed productions across Greece, the UK, Turkey, and Hungary. Her poetry has been translated into multiple languages, reflecting her international reach and her commitment to exploring the intersections of language, performance, and identity.
Princess Latifah (UK)
Princess Latifah is a spoken word artist, poet and singer whose work centres on self-love, truth, power, and the beauty of being authentically and unapologetically yourself. Her poetry celebrates natural hair, natural beauty, and the unshakeable confidence that comes from embracing who you are.Through her raw and empowering storytelling, she encourages and inspires girls and women to reclaim what’s real, heal, honour their magic, and see themselves as worthy and enough, just as they are.
Han Newton & Jess Hunt (UK)
A spoken word duet, Han Newton & Jess Hunt bring together two distinct creative voices whose collaboration blends emotional intensity, sharp wit, and a commitment to challenging conventional narratives. Han Newton is a queer performance poet, neurodivergent neurodiversity trainer, and practiced cultivator of chaos whose work explores identity, neurodivergence, and the complexities of living authentically in a world that often resists difference. Their performances combine vulnerability with incisive social commentary, creating a dynamic presence that resonates deeply with audiences.
Sissy Doutsiou (Greece)
Sissy Doutsiou is an internationally acclaimed spoken word artist and actress based in Athens, known for her powerful stage presence and her commitment to expanding the global landscape of poetry and performance. As curator of the International Video Poetry Festival, she has played a central role in shaping contemporary poetry film culture. She has toured extensively across America, Asia, and Europe, offering performances, lectures, and theatre workshops that blend poetic language, physicality, and political consciousness. Her work consistently challenges audiences to rethink the relationship between poetry, embodiment, and social transformation.
BROKENPEN (UK) Brokenpen is a London‑based spoken word artist known for his sharp lyricism, emotional depth, and socially conscious storytelling. His work blends poetry, hip‑hop cadence, and theatrical delivery, exploring themes of identity, resilience, community, and the lived realities of marginalised voices. A powerful presence on stages across the UK, Brokenpen has performed at major poetry nights, cultural festivals, and grassroots community events, earning recognition for his ability to connect personal experience with wider social narratives. His performances combine rhythm, vulnerability, and political insight, making him one of the most compelling voices in contemporary spoken word.
Tasos Sagris & Whodoes (Greece)
Tasos Sagris & Whodoes form a multimedia spoken word duet that merges electronic sound, post‑rock cinematic atmospheres, poetry, and video art into immersive performance experiences. Sagris, a distinguished poet, theatre director, and activist, tours extensively across Europe, Asia, Mexico, and the USA, presenting multimedia poetry actions, exhibitions, and theatrical productions. Performing in English, his work offers a melancholic invitation to revolt, hedonism, and social awareness. His long‑standing collaboration with electronic music producer Whodoes has produced award‑winning video poems and a signature performance style that dissolves boundaries between sound, image, and political poetics.
MAUREEN ONWUNALI (Ireland / Nigeria)
MAUREEN ONWUNALI is a Dublin-born Nigerian poet and a two-time national slam champion. Her work has been featured by various musicians, radio shows, and organisations, including BFI, Pearson, Penguin, BBC Radio London, Roundhouse, TEDx, Apples and Snakes, and the Poetry Society.
Organized by
+the Institute [for Experimental Arts]
supported by Southwest Youth Arts
